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Computer start up problems

On a computer I agreed to help fix with my friend, I can't seem to figure any way out.

When we start it up, there is just a blinking cursor on the top left corner, like a big command prompt that takes up the screen. However, when we try to type in stuff, it doesn't input anything and just stays blinking. Is there any way to fix this start up problem? Thanks.

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Try presssing F-8 repeatedly at startup and see if it will list advanced boot options. If so > select Last known good configuration. It sounds to me to be a failed hard drive or MBR corruption. Has the HDD been tested?

There is another sneaky little feature which I have just run into on an ASUS motherboard and Win 7, which has just cost me at least two hours frustration.

Having arrived at the blank screen with the blinking cursor, like Pixelvoxel above, and rebooting and tapping F8, this sometimes brings up a screen headed 'Boot choice' or Boot options' or something like that anyway. On this computer, which has two DVD drives installed, it offered a sequence DVD drive (1), Hard drive (1), DVD drive (2). Mistaking it for the boot priority sequence, every time it came up I clicked on DVD drive (1). Return of flashing cursor.

It was only after I had taken a break it occurred to me to try something different - click on 'Hard drive (1). And lo ! Win 7 went and installed itself as though there had never been a problem. Just the small matter of a couple of hundred updates + a complete software re-install. Never mind, at least the (expletive deleted) thing is working.

It was only after I had taken a break it occurred to me to try something different - click on 'Hard drive (1). And lo ! Win 7 went and installed itself as though there had never been a problem. Just the small matter of a couple of hundred updates + a complete software re-install. Never mind, at least the (expletive deleted) thing is working.